De Laz Cruz throw to the plate...U1 rotating down, did he get there?

[SeeingEyeDog]

https://www.mlb.com/news/elly-de-la-cruz-delivers-99-7-mph-infield-assist

Greetings Brothers,

     In addition to being a great defensive play...U1 correctly comes down on this rotation. I think it's Malachi Moore...not sure. Anyway...any comments on these mechanics? He is standing there at the plate with his hand in his pocket, which is a weird thing to see anytime but, especially during a close play. Also, it may be a bad TV angle but, I don't think he gets a good wedge or keyhole here. His feet don't match up well with F2's left hip. He gets the call correct I guess. What do you guys have here?

~Dawg

[834k3r]

55 minutes ago, SeeingEyeDog said:

https://www.mlb.com/news/elly-de-la-cruz-delivers-99-7-mph-infield-assist

Greetings Brothers,

     In addition to being a great defensive play...U1 correctly comes down on this rotation. I think it's Malachi Moore...not sure. Anyway...any comments on these mechanics? He is standing there at the plate with his hand in his pocket, which is a weird thing to see anytime but, especially during a close play. Also, it may be a bad TV angle but, I don't think he gets a good wedge or keyhole here. His feet don't match up well with F2's left hip. He gets the call correct I guess. What do you guys have here?

~Dawg

I don't see his hand in his pocket; in fact at 0:33 it's pretty clear his hand isn't in his pocket.

That said, I do think he benefitted from a pretty clear tag. Had the play been closer (had F6 not been gifted with a cannon for an arm) his positioning would have been problematic.

[Thunderheads]

Maybe a step to his left would have been a little better .... but I think we're splitting hairs here ......

[maven]

A step to his left takes him quite close to the plate and the risk of collision with the runner. 

F2 is pretty far up the line, so it's more likely he'd need a step to his right to pick up the swipe tag on a runner who was even or just beyond F2.

Since the ball arrived well before the runner, his positioning was fine.

[JSam21]

We are debating his positioning here? Come on now...

 

[MadMax]

3 hours ago, SeeingEyeDog said:

U1 correctly comes down on this rotation.

As they’re trained to. In fact, the entire crew rotated exactly as prescribed. 

3 hours ago, SeeingEyeDog said:

I think it's Malachi Moore... not sure. 

It wasn’t. It was CB Bucknor. ( 🧐 box score) 

3 hours ago, SeeingEyeDog said:

He is standing there at the plate with his hand in his pocket, which is a weird thing to see anytime but, especially during a close play.

He’s not. That’s a gross assumption on your part. Not only is it incorrect, but the fact that you pointed this out as a component of the play and call – like some kind of evaluator – shows a lack of grasp of context. 

Because if you had identified and grasped the context, this next part… 

3 hours ago, SeeingEyeDog said:

I don't think he gets a good wedge or keyhole here. His feet don't match up well with F2's left hip. 

… would make much more sense – again, in context – and explain a lot of what you’re… for lack of better term… nitpicking. 

This is a professional game, officiated by a professional crew, and played at professional  speeds. As @maven points out – 

2 hours ago, maven said:

A step to his left takes him quite close to the plate and the risk of collision with the runner.

… and if I may add, any kind of aftermath of the play. The Runner’s inertia doesn’t simply halt at the point of the play, nor does the F2’s body just sit there if/should the Runner collide with him. 

Besides this, at these speeds and sizes, being further away – thus increasing your visual window – and aided by video review (if needed) is a benefit, not a detriment. 

If you pause it at the 0:24 mark, you’ll see a snapshot on ideal Initial Positioning, reflective of: 

• Where he (U1) comes from (A/1B)
• What responsibilities he is inheriting by rotating to plate (IOW, he doesn’t have the touch at 3B, he has a single runner, etc.)
• Where the F2 is (now) IP’d
• Where the throw is coming from (≈ CF)
• … and most importantly, that these are professional adults. 

3 hours ago, SeeingEyeDog said:

He gets the call correct I guess.

You “guess”? You’d have a different call? 

4 hours ago, SeeingEyeDog said:

any comments on these mechanics? … What do you guys have here? 

No comments necessary. We’ve got a professional umpire performing his role exactly as trained & experienced to. 

[SeeingEyeDog]

8 minutes ago, MadMax said:

As they’re trained to. In fact, the entire crew rotated exactly as prescribed. 

It wasn’t. It was CB Bucknor. ( 🧐 box score) 

He’s not. That’s a gross assumption on your part. Not only is it incorrect, but the fact that you pointed this out as a component of the play and call – like some kind of evaluator – shows a lack of grasp of context. 

Because if you had identified and grasped the context, this next part… 

… would make much more sense – again, in context – and explain a lot of what you’re… for lack of better term… nitpicking. 

This is a professional game, officiated by a professional crew, and played at professional  speeds. As @maven points out – 

… and if I may add, any kind of aftermath of the play. The Runner’s inertia doesn’t simply halt at the point of the play, nor does the F2’s body just sit there if/should the Runner collide with him. 

Besides this, at these speeds and sizes, being further away – thus increasing your visual window – and aided by video review (if needed) is a benefit, not a detriment. 

If you pause it at the 0:24 mark, you’ll see a snapshot on ideal Initial Positioning, reflective of: 

• Where he (U1) comes from (A/1B)
• What responsibilities he is inheriting by rotating to plate (IOW, he doesn’t have the touch at 3B, he has a single runner, etc.)
• Where the F2 is (now) IP’d
• Where the throw is coming from (≈ CF)
• … and most importantly, that these are professional adults. 

You “guess”? You’d have a different call? 

No comments necessary. We’ve got a professional umpire performing his role exactly as trained & experienced to. 

Not sure what just happened here, I guess...

~Dawg

[maven]

43 minutes ago, SeeingEyeDog said:

Not sure what just happened here, I guess...

~Dawg

Eh, umpires can be a little defensive (hi Max ). 

But the tone of your first post is critical rather than inquisitive: you might consider "why did he do that" instead of "his mechanics aren't good." 

Just a suggestion. As always, posters are free to fire their hot takes as they like.

[The Man in Blue]

9 hours ago, Thunderheads said:

Maybe a step to his left would have been a little better .... but I think we're splitting hairs here ......

 

8 hours ago, maven said:

so it's more likely he'd need a step to his right to pick up the swipe tag

 

Maybe a jump to the left and then a step to the right ... 

[dumbdumb]

15 hours ago, The Man in Blue said:

 

 

Maybe a jump to the left and then a step to the right ... 

Is this a new umpiring move or a new dosado

[BigBlue4u]

On 8/29/2023 at 9:37 AM, SeeingEyeDog said:

In addition to being a great defensive play...U1 correctly comes down on this rotation. I think it's Malachi Moore...not sure. Anyway...any comments on these mechanics? He is standing there at the plate with his hand in his pocket, which is a weird thing to see anytime but, especially during a close play. Also, it may be a bad TV angle but, I don't think he gets a good wedge or keyhole here. His feet don't match up well with F2's left hip. He gets the call correct I guess. What do you guys have here?

~Dawg

This is a PERFECT example of why some umpires get into trouble.  First of all, what umpire, at any level, would have a hand in his pocket when he has to make a safe/out call on a close play at the plate? And second, at least the way I saw it, the umpire's body blocked out his hand, so there is no way one could see if his hand was actually in his pocket.  There are enough wrong straight-lined guesses as it is.  This is one of them.

[The Man in Blue]

6 hours ago, dumbdumb said:

Is this a new umpiring move or a new dosado

Well, a couple of people got it anyway …

 

[834k3r]

14 hours ago, The Man in Blue said:

Well, a couple of people got it anyway …

 

I'm not "hip" enough to get it.

[maven]

19 hours ago, 834k3r said:

I'm not "hip" enough to get it.

 

[834k3r]

4 hours ago, maven said:

 

Broken link.